Peppermint Kisses
by Yumi Sennyo
Summary: Shikamaru has always liked Ino, but he gets jealous when he finds out she is engaged.


Peppermint Kisses

_Another tingly kiss and another. I loved it when she kissed me. Every time we kissed, a residue of her lip gloss would stick to my lips and I would feel the soft tingle of peppermint from it. It was something she had had always used._

_I couldn't say I didn't care, because lately, her kisses were different. That tingle made it more fun to kiss her (even though it was already quite fun). I loved it, and I think she could tell. It seemed like every date we had, I noticed her put that lip gloss on before we got to the movies, restaurant, or etc. I don't know what it was about that lip gloss, but, I think it kind of turned me on, strangely._

Shikamaru walked down the street, flowers in tow, on his way to see Ino. Shikamaru thought it quite stupid to walk into the store and the girl he had bought the flowers from and give them to her, but it was a start. Yes, his friends called him desperate, for going after the craziest girl in the academy, but whatever, his mind was up in the clouds, as usual.

He entered the store and no one was there. He cocked an eyebrow and sighed. "Hello?"

A blonde girl, with her hair in a ponytail that almost reached her waist, in an apron, came out. "Oh. Hey Shikamaru. What's up?"

"Nothing." He said as he approached her, flowers hidden behind him.

"What are you doing here anyways?" She wiped her hands off on her apron.

"To give you these." Shikamaru smirked and gave her the flowers he bought.

"You bought these to give to me? Why didn't you give them to me after you bought them?" She said taking them.

"Dramatic effect?" He replied.

"Well, they're nice, but Shikamaru, you have to stop." She sighed, frowning a bit.

"Yeah, yeah. I know." He replied monotonously.

"If you know, then why do you continue?" She said, a bit irritated by his persistence.

Shikamaru smirked again. "I think you should know after I've answered that exact question many times before. See ya, Ino." He winked at her and walked out.

Ino hated it when he said that. Shikamaru had never answered that question, but yet, he says that same answer. What did it mean? Obviously he liked her, but why, he had no chance. She was already engaged. He knew, but yet he would give her a bouquet of flowers everyday. For some reason, even though he annoyed her to no end, Ino liked Shikamaru. Not like a lover and not like a best friend, but like someone you've had a long conversation with on the bus or train, get to know them a bit, then leave and never see them again. It was a strange feeling, but there was one there. Even though Ino didn't really mind him coming to say hi to her everyday, what bothered her was the fact that he came around more than her own fiance. She thought it was weird.

_I think I could drown in them. Her eyes. They were so blue, I bet someone will get stuck in them and drown someday. I wish I could be the one that could stare into them all day. I would too. They kind of mesmerized me. They weren't the same blue as everyone else. Everyone I knew who had blue eyes, seemed to have the same color of blue, but she had eyes that were lighter, almost a blue-silver color. They were amazing. I've tried drawing them when we used to go to school together but two things ruined it. She wouldn't stop moving and I sucked at drawing. I still do today._

Ino sat alone at the table, her fiancé had gone to the bathroom. She took another sip of her wine as she waited. Just then, Shikamaru and his close friend since school, Choji, walked into the door and sat at the bar. Choji ordered a Jack Daniels and Coke, while Shikamaru ordered a Sprite. Looked like he was the designated driver for tonight. Ino watched him take gulps of his drink, as Naruto joined them, ordering a drink for himself.

"What're you looking at?" Said a voice.

Ino blinked and turned to see her fiancé, Kuro. "The restaurant in general."

"Oh." He smiled as he sat. "Did you order without me?"

"Of course not." She smiled.

"Okay, do you know what you want, at least?" He looked at the menu.

"Yeah. You?"

"No, I have no idea what-so-ever."

The waiter came over. "Are you guys ready to order?" Shikamaru said.

Ino looked up ready to say what she wanted, but froze. Since when did Shikamaru work here?

"Honey?" Kuro asked.

"Huh?" She looked at him. "Oh! I'll have the Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad."

He scribbled down Ino's and Kuro's orders and went off.

They finished dinner and Kuro looked at her. "It's a bit chilly out tonight. I'll go warm up the car. Use you card and pay for dinner, okay?" He smiled and left.

Ino pulled out her credit card and handed it to Shikamaru. He left and then came back and gave it back to her. "Uh, Ino, there's something wrong with your credit card. You might want to call your bank and check it out, but don't worry. I paid for you guys." He smiled.

"Wait, what's wrong with it?" She asked, confused.

"I don't know, but it says that card isn't usable anymore or something. Eh, I'm just a waiter, so I don't know much about credit cards and stuff. Never owned one and never will. See ya, Ino." He walked off.

"I'll pay you back later!" She called out after him.

Ino went out to the car. "Kuro, something's wrong with my credit card. We have to call the bank and see what's wrong."

Kuro's eyes squinted in confusion. "What's wrong with it?"

"I don't know. The waiter told me it's not working."

"How do we pay then?"

"The waiter paid for us and I told him we'll pay him back."

"Damn, that was really kind of him. I'll have to put an extra bit of money in there for him. He really saved us."

Ino nodded.

The next morning, Ino was off to work and had to deal with a bride that wasn't getting her way. When Ino got married she swore not to end up like the woman that was flipping out over the fact that the flowers she wanted weren't in yet. Plus, the woman had a month before her wedding. Why would she need the flowers now? Sometimes, Ino never got some people's logic. All of a sudden, she began thinking about the person who she had the hardest time figuring out, and Shikamaru popped into her head.

"Hey, Ino." Kuro said as she watched TV.

"What?"

"There's nothing at all wrong with the card, I don't know what that waiter was talking about, but I just got off the phone with the bank and they say everything is fine."

Ino looked at him. "What?" She said in disbelief. "Then…why…ooh." Ino rolled her eyes and got up. "I'll be back in a bit." Kuro waved goodbye as she pulled out of the driveway to the restaurant they were last night.

She walked in and asked to see Shikamaru.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You have to stop." She said.

"Stop what?" Shikamaru asked as he approached her.

"Don't even start this game." She said in a pissed off tone. "I'm getting married at the end of this year. You have to stop all this shit. This isn't high school anymore, these cute little things don't work anymore. We're older and I'm mature, but you need to stop playing these stupid middle-school games and grow up. You can't have me so you might as well give up."

"Just give up?" Shikamaru said as he pulled her into a kiss. Ino pushed away and slapped him hard across the face.

"STOP IT!" She screamed and ran out of the restaurant.

Ino found herself crying in the car on the way home, not because he had done that, but because she wanted it. When his lips collided with hers, a sweet sensation she never felt swept over her. She loved it, but hated it so much. She felt like she had just broken a wedding vow, even though she hasn't even taken them. Ino found herself back at the restaurant. What was she doing here? She saw Shikamaru pass by and her heart beat quickened like never before. What was going on with her?

She stood there and watch him walk around, taking orders and serving rich people, like her and Kuro. She began to hate being rich. She watched someone get mad and throw a tomato at a waiter, saying he asked for none. She began to wonder, have I ever acted like that? Am I as much as a jerk as that man? Do I look slutty like that woman? Am I ever that rude?

A voice broke her out of her thoughts. "Can I help you?" She said again.

"Oh. No. I'm just waiting for someone." Ino answered. The person left.

Shikamaru walked towards her. "I don't want your money." He said as if reading her mind. "And you can't make me stop loving you."

He had taken the words right out of Ino's mouth. "You didn't have to pay and you shouldn't have." She sighed, tired of his games.

"So you came back for a another kiss?" He smirked.

"No! I came back to pay you." She said.

"Uh huh…" He kissed her again, holding her tight. Ino tried to resist, but she found herself up against him, their tongues exploring new found land like Christopher Columbus.

Shikamaru noted her lips tasted like peppermint.


End file.
